Immigrant-rights groups are asking a federal appellate court to take direct action to order Arizona to give driver's licenses to young undocumented people approved for President Barack Obama's program protecting them from deportation.

A nearly 2-year-old legal battle has continued even though the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that Arizona should let undocumented immigrants with deferred action get licenses.

The Appeals Court determined in its July ruling that the immigrant-rights groups that sued on behalf of a group of undocumented immigrants were likely to succeed in proving the state's driver's-license ban violates the U.S. Constitution.

The Appeals Court then ordered the lower federal court in Phoenix to issue an injunction blocking the state from denying driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants with deferred action. The Appeals Court ruled that the injunction should be issued because the deferred-action recipients were being harmed by the state's policy not allowing them to get licenses.

The state, however, asked for a rehearing, which put the Appeal Court's injunction order on hold.

On Wednesday, the immigrant-rights groups filed a motion asking the Appeals Court to issue the injunction itself so that undocumented immigrants with deferred action can begin receiving driver's licenses while the state's rehearing request is pending.

"We asked the 9th Circuit essentially to do what it thinks needs to be done, which is putting a stop to the violation of our clients' constitutional rights while this procedural hurdle is pending," said Jorge Castillo, a lawyer with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the groups suing Arizona over the driver's license ban.

Gov. Jan Brewer's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Castillo said he hopes the Appeals Court issues the injunction quickly because it's already been two years since Brewer's license ban took effect and not being able to drive legally inhibits them from getting jobs or going to school.

The 9th Circuit emphasized how "pressing" the issue is because "these are young people by definition and the more they are denied access to driver's licenses essentially the bigger the harm because they are beginning their careers or they are trying to be students and get the best education," Castillo said.

Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program took effect two years ago today, on Aug. 15, 2012. The program allows undocumented immigrants 30 and younger brought to the U.S. as minors to receive a 2-year reprieve from deportation as well as work permits.

The same day the program took effect, Brewer issued an executive order banning anyone from Arizona approved for DACA from receiving any state benefits, which included driver's licenses.

Arizona is one of only two states that bans DACA recipients from getting driver's license. The other state is Nebraska.

As of March 31, 22,756 people in Arizona had applied for DACA and 19,990 had been approved, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The state has argued that DACA recipients are not harmed because many of them drive without licenses. But in its ruling in favor of an injunction, the 9th Circuit dismissed that argument.

"Laws are not irrelevant simply because they may be disobeyed," the Appeals Court ruling said. "There can be no serious dispute" that Arizona's driver's license policy hinders DACA recipient's ability to drive and that in turn hinders their "ability to work and engage in other everyday activities."